Geography and all that Jazz

Culture: latest Digital Explorer site

2011-12-05T18:54:00.001Z

I've been working with Jamie Buchanan Dunlop over the last few months, adding some new resources to the OCEANS DIGITAL EXPLORER website.

The Digital Explorer empire is now expanding to CULTURAL matters, linking in with the idea of Citizenship and (as always) a link with real world exploration.

Check out the new CULTURAL WEBSITE which has some superb resources.

The FILMS and PHOTOS section looks like being an amazingly useful resource for exploring Citizenship issues.

New GeoPacks resource and CD

2011-11-28T10:04:00.001Z

For over a year now I've been getting regular e-mails from Rick Cope and Mark Hacklett at GeoPacks - creators of the excellent COASTAL MANAGER software - to tell me about the latest free resource that they've shared.

If you want to catch up with the freebies that they've made available, there's now an excellent Resource CD which will get you right up to speed.

It's available for £12 from GeoPacks. Follow the link to find out more.

Make sure you SIGN UP to receive a regular free resource update too.

Follow the link to FREE STUFF from the home page.

VITAL Teachshare: Google Earth Placemarks

2011-11-15T10:07:00.001Z

My next VITAL Teachshare will be on Wednesday the 16th of November (that's tomorrow if you're reading this today) at 7pm.
It's on ways of customising Google Earth Placemarks...

Click THIS LINK just before 7 to join me. You'll need to allow the download of the plug-in to handle the Elluminate session, which will then allow you to see and hear me, and to take part.

Don't forget to check the KEYHOLE BULLETIN BOARD to get the full range of layers and files shared by Google Earth users. Use the SEARCH function to unearth the goodness....

This will be my little contribution to WORLD GIS DAY, which is taking place tomorrow, as part of GEOGRAPHY AWARENESS WEEK.

What are you doing for World GIS Day ?
Why not add a touch of GIS to your teaching tomorrow...

2011-08-17T20:42:00.001Z

Earlier this year, I was involved in an exciting project with National Geographic Education in the USA as part of the Geography Collective. This led to my friend and colleague Daniel Raven Ellison spending a week at the National Council for Geographic Education conference in Portland, Oregon, and working with educators from across the USA.

This project has been an exciting one to be involved with. It offers a range of activities which can be carried out in your neighbourhood, and earn points for completing them. Would be good for exploring local areas, local wildlife and ideas of community. These will be used across the USA for their Geography Awareness Week later in the year.

You will need to have registered with TES Connect, which is free and takes a few moments.

You can then DOWNLOAD THE BOOKLET as a 34 page, 13 Mb PDF and check it out.

Please take a look and let me know what you think...

2011-07-07T15:28:00.001Z

The flyers for the latest GA CPD events have been published on Scribd.

I am leading two NQT Conferences in November 2011

NQT Conference: Making a difference in the classroom

If you are going to be an NQT Geographer or you are going to have an NQT in your department, and you'd like to book a place, contact Lucy Oxley on 01142960088

2011-06-28T10:50:00.001Z

Well, one perhaps as I doubt you'd come to both...
These are the first of the GA CPD events that I shall be doing in the new academic year that have so far been scheduled, and thanks to Lucy for sending me the flyer...
The events are NQT Conferences.

Look out for a mailing coming into schools shortly, and also inserts in GA journals....

If you'd like to secure your place, or find out more information about the events, there are several different prices depending on the status of your GA membership. Call Lucy Oxley at the GA on 01142960088 for more information.
I look forward to seeing some of you in November !
And I'll be mentioning this event once or twice between now and then....

2011-06-24T08:37:00.002Z

Interested in GIS in school but not sure where to start ?
The folks at ESRI UK, with whom we've been working for the last year are putting on a range of FREE taster sessions over the next few weeks.
They are taking place in a range of venues, and there are 2 options.

1. Face to face taster sessions

Come along to one of our free GIS taster sessions and try out our GIS software, get some classroom ideas and find out what our GIS for Schools Programme has to offer. It only takes a minute to book a place. Just choose a location from the list below and click on the Book now link to register some brief details.

The sessions will take place in:

Birmingham

King Edward VI Five Ways School, Scotland Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 4BT
Date              Wednesday 29 June 2011
Time              3:45pm - 6:00pm
Location map  |  Book now ›

Bristol

THE-i CLC, Orchard School site, Filton Road, Horfield, Bristol, BS7 0XY
Date               Thursday 7 July 2011
Time              1:00pm - 4:00pm
Location map  |  Book now ›

London

Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR
Date               Friday 1 July 2011
Time              4:00pm - 6:00pm
Location map  |  Book now ›

The Norwood School, Crown Dale, Lambeth, London, SE19 3NY
Date               Thursday 14 July 2011
Time              4:00pm - 6:00pm
Location map  |  Book now ›

Manchester

Central Manchester City Learning Centre, Cambridge Street, Manchester, M15 6HP
Date               Friday 1 July 2011
Time              1:00pm - 4:00pm
Location map  |  Book now ›

Nottingham

Nottingham e-Learning Centres – North Centre, Top Valley Drive, Top Valley, Nottingham, NG5 9AZ

Date Wednesday 13 July 2011

Time 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Location map | Book now ›

2. Free WEBINARS

If you can’t make one of the hands-on GIS taster sessions, why not book a place on one of our live webinars? These online seminars allow you to see a demonstration of the software and find out about our programme without the need to travel. During the webinar you can submit questions if you wish, or just sit back and watch.

To book a place, just click on one of the Book now links below and fill in some brief details. We will then email with all the information you’ll need to take part.

The live webinars will take place on:

Thursday 23 June	4:00pm – 4:30pm	Book now ›
Thursday 30 June	4:00pm – 4:30pm	Book now ›
Thursday 7 July	4:00pm – 4:30pm	Book now ›
Monday 11 July	4:00pm – 4:30pm	Book now ›
Tuesday 12 July	4:00pm – 4:30pm	Book now ›
Wednesday 20 July	4:00pm – 4:30pm	Book now ›

All links take you to ESRI UK website as these events are organised by ESRI UK.

Grab a bit of free CPD in the final weeks of the SUMMER TERM....

2011-06-16T20:36:00.001Z

The annual Young Geographer of the Year Award has been launched by the Royal Geographical Society in association with Geographical magazine.

This year there has been a slight change of format for the awards which I think makes it a stronger opportunity, and will result in more "useful" and insightful responses...

Geography surrounds us: on the world map on your classroom wall, in events on the news, or the changes taking place in your local area and further afield. Geographers strive to better understand the connections between the world’s people, places and environments and the interactions taking place between them.

To help us understand our world we ask questions such as; Where is this place? Why is it like this? How is it connected with other places? How is this place changing? and Why are these changes taking place? We like to zoom between the local and the global scales and are fascinated with maps, not just to find out where places are but to also show how places are connected, their human and physical characteristics, and the differences between them.

So if you’ve ever wondered where your ipod was made, where the plastic in your recycling bin ends up or why climate change is on the news you’ve already been developing your geographical understanding.

Without geography we’d be lost and this year’s Young Geographer of the Year gives you the chance to answer the question:

'What should every good geographer understand?'

Visit the website to download the application / entry forms and give it a go.
There are 4 age categories, which correspond to KS2, 3, 4 and 5...

This year there is also a new award for PGCE / NQT teachers too.....

The Rex Walford Award for PGCE students and NQTs

The Society is also delighted to announce a new element of the competition - The Rex Walford Award for PGCE students and newly qualified geography teachers. Reflecting Rex Walford’s passion for training new geography teachers, this award will be given to a PGCE student or NQT who creates the best set of teaching resources, scheme of work or lesson plans linked to this year's Young Geographer competition. The winner will receive a Society Fellowship for one year plus a cash prize of £150 and their materials will be hosted on the Society’s website.

Get your geographical thinking caps on - you have to be in it to win it....

2011-04-28T16:11:00.001Z

Another great collaborative Twitter project response...

Yesterday, I asked colleagues who follow me to provide some descriptions of the British Seaside...
Words that appear larger were mentioned more frequently by the word cloud generator.

First of all a WORDLE - click the image below to be taken to the Wordle page...

Here is a Tagxedo version of the Wordle...
Click for biggery...

Thanks for all the contributors.
What words would you choose ?
How could you use this diagram as a resource in the classroom or for a homework task ?

2011-04-21T10:30:00.001Z

One of the things that I am quietly 'obsessed' (ish) with is the Mass Observation project, which dates back to the 1930s
I have a number of books which drew on the project: one by Simon Garfield, and several chunky ones by David Kynaston.

I keep checking on the recruitment criteria, but sadly they never seem to want people my age in my geographical area.

Elements of Mass Observation also creep into several other books that I own, and there are elements of cultural geography in the data patterns and other outcomes from the project.

Now everyone has the chance to be a Mass Observation person for the day, and the day is the 12th of May, which is coming up.

Details of how to participate are HERE

You'll need to keep a diary on the day in electronic form, and include a disclaimer that it can be used in the archive...

Write as much as you can about what you do, who you meet, what you talk about, what you eat and drink, what you buy or sell, what you are working on, the places you visit, the people you meet, the things you read, see and hear around you and of course what you yourself think.

I'll be taking part, and will be having a typically geographical day I'm sure...

2011-04-19T13:41:00.001Z

A number of posts are appearing over at my LIVING GEOGRAPHY blog on the follow-up to the GA Conference 2011.

There were some wonderful sessions.... but enough about me...

Anne Greaves has started to post resources from the conference on the GA WEBSITE.

Image by Bryan Ledgard
Copyright Geographical Association

2011-04-06T11:42:00.001Z

If you are reading this blog you may well be heading to the GA conference at the University of Surrey in Guildford.
It's next week, which is a bit scary as I still have a lot to organise, but cracking through it today.
Just been circling the sessions that I'm planning to attend in my conference booklet, and there are plenty of them... the variety of sessions means that there is definitely something for everyone...
One additional event that isn't on the programme is the chance to meet myself, Richard Allaway of "Geography all the Way" fame, and David Rogers: author, teacher and chair of the GA's Secondary Committee... We will be in a pub near the centre of Guildford at around 8.30pm...
The drinks won't be free... but they'll be reasonably priced...

Full details, including maps and everything, are on Richard Allaway's GEOGALOT blog...

What are you most looking forward to at the GA Conference this year ?

Don't forget the hashtag... #gaconf11

2011-04-01T09:01:00.001Z

Get yourself to Amazon or a local bookshop and get/order copies of our two new books, published in association with Can of Worms press...
They are out today, and would make a great gift for the child in your life, from 8 to 88 and beyond...

Amazon link

Amazon link

The official 'launch' will be in London tomorrow - we've already used a catapult and a rocket to 'launch' our books, and at the weekend, we'll be using balloons...

If you're going to be in London at the weekend, get involved... (see this Time Out link)

Don't just take my word for how these books are, check out these other reviews:

Mission:Explore is bold, cool, exciting, innovative, geographic, educational…and just plain fun! Every curious kid, budding geographer, and responsible parent should have a copy!” – National Geographic“

Designed to be read, scribbled on, illustrated, smeared, scratched and sniffed, it may just be the most revolutionary geography-related book ever published” – Geographical Magazine

“This young explorers’ kit is endlessly adventurous – a journey in itself. An utter delight – full of surpises and things to make you look at the world afresh. Can’t wait for my toddlers to be equipped with a copy each, so that they too can set out to be explorers…” Benedict Allen, Explorer

“The more removed we become from nature and wild places the harder it will be to inspire people to tackle the worlds environmental issues. Whats great about this book is that its so positive, enthusiastic and creative that it would make anyone want to turn off the Xbox for a few hours and explore the world around them” WWF

“This new book offers a great introduction to camping for children. With a range of fun and practical advice and ideas, ‘Mission: Explore Camping’ is an exciting addition to any family camping trip.” Vango

“I really love these super books by Mission Explore. They are fun to read, great to look at and are bursting with lots of exciting and challenging activities. They are a brilliant way to get kids and adults outside exploring and having fun! Go and get inspired today !” Sue Atkins, author of “Raising Happy Children for Dummies”

“Mission: Explore on the Road is funny, clever and important. How many books do all that? And its dangerous stuff too – explorers will be changed by the nicely weighted and well thought out missions. They leave young people better prepared to go out into the world and make their own sense of it” Dr Joe Smith, The Open University

“And the best thing: the kids run off exploring and entertaining themselves for hours, leaving you to kick back and relax with a cheeky beer in the peaceful afternoon sun!” FestivalKidz.com

2011-03-29T09:24:00.001Z

One of the things I'm proudest of in the last few years is my involvement with the Geography Collective, and our Mission:Explore books, iPhone app and other activities...
We can now announce our latest project, thanks to the project leadership of Daniel Raven Ellison.

We are very pleased to say that we will be delivering a major project for the Cultural Olympiad as part of the Discovering Places programme called Discover Explore. Discovering Places is funded by a grant from Olympic Lottery Distributor (OLD) through the London Organising Committee of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). It is delivered by The Heritage Alliance with the support of key partners.. one of which is us.

We will be working closely with The Workshop to create something very beautiful and cool which will be launched this summer.

“The project aims to inspire young people and their families to discover hidden, extraordinary and important historical sites and stories in cutting-edge and engaging ways. The unique collaboration between Discovering Places, The Geography Collective and numerous small and medium scales historic and natural environment organisations will inspire active participation, animate spaces, raise awareness of environmental sustainability and enhance learning by linking up local heritage assets.” The Heritage Alliance

‘We are extremely excited to be working on this cutting edge and creative strand of Discovering Places. This project is going to open up opportunities for children and families to explore and experience places in new ways and have a great deal of fun while thare are at it. We will be uncovering heritage in ways that will demonstrate how inclusive the Cultural Olympiad is and break new ground on engaging young people with the people, places and stories of not only our pasts but our future’s past.’ Daniel Raven-Ellison, Project Director, The Geography Collective

To read more about the Cultural Olympiad, Discovering Places and our project take a look at the Heritage Alliance newsletter here.

Look forward to meeting the rest of the Geography Collective in May to kick-start the project...

FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER !!

2011-03-22T20:23:00.001Z

Gathering ideas for a future project on iPhone applications that would support geographical learning... whether outside or inside the classroom...

As well as the obvious MISSION EXPLORE app, there's also the RORY's STORYCUBES APP that I have poised and ready for business (although the actual dice are more tactile...)

Image by Alan Parkinson - cubes by Creativity Hub...

If you have other thoughts on iPhone apps that you particularly USE (rather than just having on your phone for visual impact), please let me know or add a comment below...

2011-03-21T17:18:00.001Z

My earlier blog post about the Christchurch memorial service was a reminder of the many connections that exist between the UK and New Zealand.
My friend Simon Hathaway, who now lives in Wellington (which is a major improvement on Rotherham) sent me a pack of newspaper and magazine articles this week to add to the other resources that I have gathered to help teach about the resilience of a major city following an earthquake. I was interested to read the 'North and South New Zealander of the Year' piece, which awarded the Supreme Winner to the people of Christchurch... and that was following the earlier September 2010 quake...
There was also a really useful piece from the Dominion Post by Chris Kalderimis on the most useful items to have in a home emergency survival kit, and lots of personal stories.

The #blog4nz campaign is encouraging bloggers the world over to focus on New Zealand for a while, and this post is part of the effort.

Although my work involves me in translating a range of media into resources which can make a difference in the classroom, there is also a lot of personal interest in exploring these distant places, and one area to develop is the impact of tourism in New Zealand.

One of the potential longer term impacts of the Christchurch earthquake is the effect that it might have on the tourist industry on both islands, but particularly the South Island. New Zealand has been on my must-visit list for ever, and I still fully intend to visit one day, although the current financial situation is not making it any easier...

Image shared under Creative Commons license by Boston Public Library
When I was asked to produce a KS3 book for use in the geography classroom, I was determined to get a little bit of New Zealand in there. I chose an iconic landform to focus on: the distinctive Mitre Peak in Milford Sound.

My contribution to the GA's toolkit series included two lessons called "Mountains on my Mind". They involved students applying for a job with a fictional tour company which operated flights into Milford Sound. Students needed to prepare themselves for the job interview by researching answers to the sorts of questions that tourists would have as they flew over the mountains.

Below is a slideshow of images taken by Simon Hathaway, which were used to introduce the lesson - the music is by the band "Suns of the Tundra" - with thanks to Simon Oakes for the remix music track :) - warning: it could get loud !!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

When clicking on the Dominion Post link earlier to create the hyperlink, I noticed a few tourism related stories straight away:

Preparations for the next Rugby World Cup later this year are already well underway, and there was also the story about the filming for 'The Hobbit' movie.

This reminded me of a the tourism benefits of the filming of "The Lord of the Rings" which resulted in a major surge in visitors, and the publication of several guides to the filming locations.

So what would my top priorities be for our family visit to New Zealand, which was going to be 2012, but now looks like being later... My interest in some parts of the country date back to 2007. At the time I was supporting Val Vannet as she followed Mark Beaumont around the world on his record-breaking
I took over from Val over the Christmas and New Year period 2007-8 and followed Mark through New Zealand and therefore spent a lot of time using Google Earth and other sites to trace his route and identify some geographical highlights....
Here is a 'top ten', which provides a taster.... There'll be no bungee though, or white water rafting. I prefer more sedate pleasures...

1. Wellington
We'll be based in the city as that's where friends who've offered us a bed for as long as we want live. But from there we'll branch out. Wellington has plenty to offer the visitor, and we'll explore the hills and the city itself. Plenty of interesting food and cultural highlights... We can get over our jet lag here before exploring further afield in a motor home...

2. Ferry to the South Island (and back)
Looking forward to this trip. We enjoy boat journeys and this is one of the more spectacular ones.

3. Christchurch
As a geographer, I'd be interested in seeing the city for various reasons, but not the least to show that it is as safe to visit as anywhere else along this fault-line. This would not be "disaster tourism", but a genuine desire to support local businesses as well as publicise for geography teachers and students back home some of the longer term ways that 'resilience' manifests itself....

4.Mt.Taranaki / Egmont and the surrounding area
Egmont / Taranaki is an amazing mountain, and the surrounding area has plenty of interest. I am particularly keen to visit places that are as 'different' to the day-to-day as possible.

5. Rotorua
Having visited Iceland recently, including a trip to Geysir and other hot springs, I've had my fair share of sulphurous water, but this is one of those places where the thin shell of the Earth's crust becomes obvious, and for that reason I need to take a look...

6. Milford Sound - I'm torn between driving in, and flying in - perhaps I could do both ? This is one of the great places of the world. When I was younger I visited the Hardangerfjord and other fjords of Norway, and I'm always impressed by huge cliffs and deep water. The waterfalls and jagged peaks are stunning.

7. Moeraki
Always wanted to see the Moeraki boulders, looking like dinosaur eggs on the beach. Moeraki is not too far from Christchurch. The family might not be too impressed if I dragged them a long distance to see "a few rocks", although they are beautiful rocks...

8. Mt Ruapehu and Tongariro
In the same area of the North Island, I used to teach about the eruption of these volcanoes for many years. I like the idea of seeing the peaks and snow fields, and making the link with the 'Lord of the Rings' locations...

9. Franz Josef Glacier
Again, my recent trip to Iceland allowed me to walk on a large glacier, but this has a much different feel to the Solheimajokull ice cap, with its steeper gradient and dramatic crevasses...

10. Shackleton connections
Sir Ernest Shackleton has always been an inspiration of mine, and the chance to visit some of the places where he prepared for his journeys would be a good reason for heading South... Two places on the list would be the grave of Chippy McNeish in Karori cemetery, Wellington, and the port of Lyttleton.

Picture by Simon Hathaway - Chippy McNeish and Mrs Chippy...

I am keen to trace some of the connections with the early Polar explorers, as we prepare for the centenary of Scott and Amundsen's race to the Pole next year. I have no doubt that someone somewhere is planning to tweet their journeys day by day (and if they aren't I though of it first... ;) )

See you there !

2011-03-20T11:01:00.001Z

Earlier in the week, picked up on this story from the Guardian, as one of the impacts of last week's earthquake and tsunami...
It describes the particular impact that shortages of food, water and power are having on those who survived, or were evacuated from the areas affected by the combination of hazards that have hit the country.
The elderly are apparently being affected particularly badly.

The second story was from Friday morning's BBC news. Despite the rise in obesity, the UK population is still enjoying longer life expectancy.

The third was prompted by a conversation with Carl Lee in Sheffield on Wednesday. He put me on to the latest Danny Dorling book, which I promptly ordered, and it arrived on Friday.

There are plenty of interesting sections which could translate into the classroom.
I liked the introduction: "Geography Matters", which includes the useful reminder for adult readers of the book that:
"The geography you may have been taught late on a Thursday afternoon at school is not the geography that is taught in universities today.."
- although in many cases it is also not the geography that is taught at schools on Thursday afternoons these days...

There are chapters on a range of themes that would be familiar to those teaching GCSE and 'A' level specifications, and this book should perhaps be available in school and departmental libraries.
Useful information on optimum populations, immigration, ageing populations and gender imbalance.
As always with Danny, plenty of thought provoking and challenging arguments and information....

Plenty of information for follow up reading in the copious endnotes too...

2011-03-15T21:37:00.002Z

The GA will have a stand at this year's Education Show 2011 at the NEC.
We will be in Hall 6&7 on Stand P30A - the subject association area (as at BETT) - the show starts later this week...

Come along to pick up the latest catalogues, see some of our new publications, browse some GA resources and be told about the support for Primary and Secondary colleague that members can expect, as well as our CPD support and online networks.

We would be interested to hear your views on the curriculum review, English Baccalaureate, and other challenges facing geography in schools, as well as the opportunities presented by these 'interesting times'.

I will be setting up and manning the stand on the first day of the show: Thursday the 17th of March

Alternatively, come with a USB drive and I'll let you have some free resources from my hard drive...

I'll also be handing out various bits for those who get there early...

My colleagues Nicola Donkin and Paul Baker will be on the stand on the other 2 days of the show...

Look forward to seeing some of you there...

2011-03-06T14:17:00.001Z

I asked my Twitter followers to suggest/nominate a natural and a man-made "Wonder of the World" that (importantly) they had seen themselves... and to add the hashtag #nqtgeog11

Here are the results:

Natural Wonders
Colca Canyon, Peru
Solheimajokull Glacier, Iceland
Here's a picture of me on that very glacier in 2010:

Jostedalsbreen, Norway
Cheddar Gorge
Tropical Rainforests
Yosemite Valley
The Cuillin Ridge, Skye
Here's one of my images of a section of the said ridge:

The Cenotes of the Chicxulub meteor impact in Mexico
Cwm Idwal
Landmannalaugar region of Iceland
Valle de Mai, Praslin, Seychelles - home of the Coco de Mer
Fingal's Cave
Bryce Canyon, Utah
The Alps
Grand Canyon

Man Made Wonders
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
Here are some pictures that I took when I visited....

Petra, Jordan (2 votes)
Great Wall of China
Serapeum, Temple of the Bulls near Cairo
The CERN Large Hadron Collider
Sydney Harbour Bridge (3 votes)
The London Sewers
The Emirates Stadium
Shah Mosque, Esfahan
St Pancras Station
Eden Project, Cornwall
Jamaa el Fna, Marrakech as the sun sets...
The Burj Khalifa - just been reading about the At the Top attraction and browsing pictures taken from the top - incredible...

My own choice is probably
Natural: Prekestolen or Pulpit Rock in Rogaland, Norway, which I visited in 1984 and have never forgotten...
I had a dodgy camera at the time, so didn't get any decent pictures. Here's one from TrekEarth, which is used with thanks to Kris Verhoeven

Man-made: The Blue Lagoon

Here's one of my images:

Which amazing places do you 'visit' with your students ?

2011-02-27T17:21:00.001Z

In just over a month's time, there are two new Mission:Explore books launched on the world by The Geography Collective and Can of Worms Press.
Here are the front covers for those who are interested. They are already available to pre-order on Amazon so make sure you buy at least one copy....

There will be launch events in London on the 1st and 2nd of April, but if you are around in London on the evening of the 31st of March, you can join us at the Old Explorer, just a short walk from Oxford Circus.

Sign up to join us....

Plenty more to come in a month's time...

2011-02-22T20:21:00.001Z

Thanks to John Widdowson for alerting me to the existence of this website from the LEGACY COMPANY, which acts as a tremendous additional resource for those teaching (or planning to teach) about the Olympics 2012. It includes an excellent interactive map with a number of 'layers' which shows the true scale of the Olympic park, and the various developments that are planned.

The GA will be producing a whole range of resources for the Olympics nearer the time, and we have already had a range of Olympics activities including a teacher conference, and of course Bob Digby's ongoing tours of the Olympic Park (there is a chance to take part in one of these on day one of the conference)

There is a large section on the Sustainability of the Olympic site in John Widdowson's GCSE toolkit book, which is now available from the GA shop.

There is also a Top Spec Geography title which is forthcoming, and a KS3 toolkit publication too.
With the opening of the velodrome today, this is a good time to take another look at what is planned for the park, plus there is the ongoing talks about the football future for the Olympics stadium itself.

There is a useful brochure on Scribd which is embedded below...

Future of the Park launch brochure

2011-02-14T19:28:00.001Z

You have a chance to book a place on a weekend with a difference... thanks to the Geography Collective.

Are you playful and creative, with a conceptual interest in space?

Develop new perspectives on the philosophy, production, exploration and representation of space by attending our Master In Space course and gaining a Master In Space qualification.

The Master in Space course is carefully (un)planned around a series of semi-structured units. All units are ‘unknown’ before the course begins, but are likely to include free, thinking, restricted, open, public, child-like, bound, exciting, eventful and other forms of space. While no specific skills are needed you can expect to immerse yourself ‘in space’ by working with paint, ink, typewriters, string, projection, sound and many other tools, mediums and approaches. You must successfully complete three units to become aMaster in Space.

Take this course to:

· immerse yourself in space and spatial thinking

· be awarded a unique qualification

· earn the right to wear (MiS) after your name

· meet like-minded people from different fields and backgrounds

· be playful, creative and explorative.

The course takes place over a Master in Residence all-inclusive residential weekend, from 6pm on Friday 18 November to midday on Sunday 20 November 2011.

The course costs £150 and includes:

· 2 nights in shared accommodation

· Fabulous meals

· Beer, wine and soft drinks

· All equipment and resources

· Official certificate of award

· Master in Residence Membership for one year.

Where is this course taking place?

Join us, at YHA Medway, a traditional Kentish Oast House in a country park setting, close to historic Rochester, Chatham Dockyard and the Kent Downs. Chatham railway station is two miles away. Trains from London take 40 minutes from St Pancras and one hour from Victoria.

www.geographycollective.co.uk

...

Terms & Conditions

The course fee is non-refundable.

You must be aged 18 or more to take part.

We reserve the right to change or cancel this course. If the course is cancelled we will provide a full refund.

All participants will be asked to sign a damage waiver on arrival

Tickets are available from EVENTBRITE.

2011-02-14T11:33:00.001Z

If you're a geographer, and are reading this, and also use Twitter, you need to send a tweet with the hashtag here: #OneOfOneThousandGeographers.
This will then be picked up by Dan from the Geography Collective, and we'll add you to the list... We're well over 100 now, and next stop, 1000 !

2011-02-09T16:53:00.001Z

Just ordered my DVD copy of this amazing series, which should perhaps be an essential part of every geography department's multimedia library... It should perhaps sit alongside Planet Earth, Coast, and various other DVDs which I bought...

There are so many clips and aspects of this series that should find their way into the curriculum in lower school, as well as supporting many GCSE contexts.
There are 8 episodes in the series.

There are chances to watch some of the previous episodes that haven't yet been broadcast on the iPlayer page

Check out the BBC HUMAN PLANET EXPLORER for more details.
Some fabulous images and other media on the HUMAN PLANET BLOG.

Check out the SURVIVAL SKILLS resource too... splendid..

Following on from last week's FORESTS episode, there's an excellent GUARDIAN INTERACTIVE on the world's endangered forests.

Finally, don't forget that you can get embeddable videos from each programme too, such as this one of the CEMETERY dwellers of MANILA

2011-02-03T21:48:00.001Z

The new OFSTED Subject report for Geography will be released tomorrow morning.

Professor David Lambert has already had a letter / report published in the Daily Telegraph today, and it is well worth a read. As always, a well informed and passionate defence of geography....

David references the late Rex Walford and explains the importance of geography, which is...

"...the subject that contributes more than any other to young people's knowledge of the world, their understanding of the relationships between people and places, and their ability and propensity to think critically and creatively about the ways in which we affect the planet we live on.

Given the vast ambition of the topic, it is easy to see how it can be badly taught. But it would be a betrayal of young people to give up on what geography can contribute to their education, just because it is hard to teach well."

Don't forget to add your comments to the GA website tomorrow morning when you've had the chance to find out more about the report and its contents...

2011-01-27T10:10:00.001Z

One of the findings of the recent trip to Salzburg (did I mention that ?) was a project which was connected with one my colleagues on the trip...
It's a documentary called Silent Snow (referencing the classic 'Silent Spring') and looks at the spread of toxic chemicals into the communities of circum-polar lands, and other locations, despite the chemicals being banned many years ago.
This is affecting their health.
DDT is banned in many countries, but is still being used in Africa.

SILENT SNOW

The website has a link to a trailer for the film.

The Silent Snow project

The Silent Snow project aims to raise awareness of this problem and consists of both a short and a feature length documentary by Jan van den Berg, educational material for schools and this website. In the short film the subject is introduced by following two young girls in Greenland and the way in which they are confronted with the pollution of their environment.

In the feature length documentary a young Inuit woman travels around the world looking for the causes of this pollution. As such the film highlights not only the consequences in the polar region, but also the causes and dilemmas, such as the use of DDT against malaria in Africa. This film will premiere in February 2011 in Nairobi at a conference organized by UNEP.

2011-01-15T19:43:00.001Z

Here's Dan at the Outdoors Show at EXCEL on Thursday of this week..
He's talking about MISSION:EXPLORE.... Watch out for the TWO NEW Mission:Explore books coming out later in the year...

If you'd like to partner with us, or find out more about having missions written in your area, or getting us into your school, get in touch !!

2011-01-12T12:28:00.001Z

You deserve to get one of these for yourself, or your wife or husband or partner, or a friend, or as a prize....just buy one...

Now available from the GA's online merchandise store...

iPhone 3G / 3GS case, which has been given a GA makeover...
Show your support for Geography and the GA wherever you go, and protect your iPhone at the same time..

Can't wait for mine to arrive :)

2011-01-06T09:39:00.001Z

Earlier this week, one of the first e-mails to be received by GA staff after the Christmas break was the sad news that Dr Rex Walford, OBE & President of the GA in 1983-4 was missing after a boat accident in the Thames over the Christmas period.

Rex was one of the most influential post-war geographers and few teachers will have been unaware of his work, or gone through their career without encountering his huge contribution to geography education.

Image copyright Bryan Ledgard - Rex and Fred Martin at the official opening of Solly Street

My first introduction was in the form of the idea of Games in Geography, guided by my PGCE tutor, the late Vincent Tidswell. As a gamer myself, I enjoyed developing some of my own variations on Rex's ideas, and remember the contributions that Rex made to Teaching Geography.
I met Rex numerous times as he visited Cambridge University PGCE colleagues who had their placement in my school through the 1990s.
More recently, we met again at Madingley Hall for the 2010 Geography Teacher Educators' Conference, where I was privileged to hear him talk through his involvement in the famous lecture series in the 1960s, and showed documents from his remarkable archive. He was also present at the recent official opening of Solly Street, and can be seen on the front cover of the most recent issue of GA Magazine. He was also one of the many influential faces from Geography's past (and future) who attended a recent seminar at the Institute of Education.
Yesterday, I went down into the GA warehouse, and read through the issues of Teaching Geography from the time of Rex's GA presidency. One of the articles was by Rex himself on the issue of Marking in geography, and contained useful advice, written back in 1984, which still holds true today...

Article by Rex from Teaching Geography, 1984

A brief message by Professor David Lambert has been added to the GA website - there will be a fuller remembrance in future GA journals and events.

You can comment on the message on the GA website if you want to add your own messages to remember Rex. There are already plenty of messages on the website.

2011-01-01T20:45:00.001Z

A new place to direct people to: your own online profile page.
A useful online 'business card'...
Here's my ABOUT ME PAGE

2011-01-01T19:36:00.001Z

I've followed quite a few of these projects. The idea is that you post something each day for a whole year.
I've never done one before, mostly because I forget to start one on the 1st of January, and then decide to wait until the next time round.

This year I remembered...

Different people post different things: images, videos, song lyrics, poems, quotations... you can basically add what you want.
I'm going to use POSTEROUS for my 365 as I can post to it from my iPhone using the POSTEROUS app, but also have the option to e-mail posts to the blog as well. Never used it for more than the odd blog post either...

Visit the 2011x365 BLOG HERE, and feel free to subscribe...

2010-12-22T16:18:00.001Z

Started a new Twitter stream yesterday to collate stories of the Big Freeze...

Follow @FrozenUK for the cold weather geographical digest... or add #FrozenUK to your tweets and I'll pick it up and add it when I get the chance...

There is more snow falling as I type this...

2010-12-07T20:38:00.001Z

Another tip off via Twitter...

The INFINITE CITY is an article about a new book by Rebecca Solnit, who we like a lot at the Geography Collective.

It's an 'atlas of San Francisco', but not the usual type...

They are designed to make the reader think anew about the city of San Francisco—its history, natural habitat, economic function, political values—and, by extension, about the way we all imagine the places we live in. "A city," Solnit writes in her introduction, "is a particular kind of place, perhaps best described as many worlds in one place; it compounds many versions without reconciling them."

Ordinary maps show only the physical infrastructure that these "many worlds" share—streets, rivers, monuments.

The maps in Infinite City, on the other hand, treat the physical city as a blank slate, on which many different experiences can be overwritten, like texts on a palimpsest.

Exciting urban geography...
Sounds like a fascinating book !!

2010-12-05T12:24:00.001Z

The International Baccalaureate is being considered by a growing number of teachers as an alternative to more traditional courses.

IB Geography - Reflecting on the 'new' syllabus
This CPD course will help Post-16 teachers, both new and experienced, reflect upon the demands of the IB geography diploma programme.

The 'new' 2009–2017 syllabus will have completed its first cycle in the summer of 2011 and this one-day course will provide an excellent opportunity for teachers to reflect upon the first cycle and make plans for the next.

London - Friday 24 June 2011

Further details and online booking are available on the GA website

The course tutor is Richard Allaway, creator of the rather wonderful GEOGRAPHY ALL THE WAY website.

2010-12-05T12:18:00.001Z

A new version of Google Earth was released recently: GOOGLE EARTH 6...
It includes millions of 3D trees, and other improvements, including better integration with Google Street View

Go to the AMAZON for example, and you can wander the jungle and explore some of the tree species in the rainforest... I'm sure we can come up with some ideas for using this in the geography classroom :)

And don't forget my Innovative Geography Teaching funded project from back in 2005...

2010-12-02T09:42:00.001Z

David Lambert gave a keynote lecture to the 2010 SSAT annual conference on Friday 26 November.

He addressed round 1500 school leaders on the question: are subjects in crisis?

Obviously he focussed on geography and made some positive remarks about the recent White Paper The Importance of Teaching and its intention to recentre the school curriculum on 'knowledge'.

You can see a video of David's lecture on the SSAT website (take a look at Dylan Wiliam's session while you're there....)

The slides that David used (you might want to listen to the presentation while watching the slides, or put them side by side on the screen...) are available via SLIDESHARE... and have been embedded below...
November 2010 SSAT Presentation

View more presentations from GeoBlogs.

If you're snowbound today & your school is closed take a look...
Think of it as a little impromptu CPD

P.S: This is my 1,111 th post on this blog...

2010-11-19T09:25:00.001Z

Geographical Association Conference & Exhibition 2011 Programme

2010-10-04T12:20:00.001Z

The latest issue of Teaching Geography is now available to download by those who subscribe to it....

It features a range of inspirational articles on the theme of place by Mark Jones, Eleanor Rawling, Becky Kitchen, Margaret Roberts and others...
Articles range from a teacher visit to Greenland, to the urban re-branding and renaissance of Scarborough...

To add a subscription to your GA membership, or to join (and gain access to the last five years of journals in electronic format) click the JOIN THE GA link.

2010-10-03T15:09:00.001Z

The Geography of Sport has found its way onto many KS3 schemes of work.
It made its way onto mine as I used to teach in a Sports college. The PE department had a lot of money, and we didn't so it made sense to start to make a few connections. Remember that at this time of austerity, any additional source of funding for geography departments needs to be explored.

The World Cup has been and gone, the Olympics aren't until 2012 (although that is getting closer every day... literally a day closer)...
Just been watching the first part of the opening ceremony for the COMMONWEALTH GAMES.

The weblink above includes details on getting the bid document, for activities which involve planning a bid for the games in your local area...

The idea of designing the cultural element of the opening ceremony of a similar event in your home area has already been explored elsewhere.... perhaps the giant helium balloon used in Delhi could become a giant Yorkshire pudding on which images of the county were projected, if they were held in Sheffield ?

With many official languages, a huge variety of landscapes and diversity. the ceremony included a lot of music, costumes etc.
I liked the henna hand painting from beneath...

Good for exploring cultural diversity in India, but also how an event like this will raise awareness of the country. A nice REUTERS SLIDESHOW has some good pictures contrasting ancient and modern India.

Don't forget the Geographical Association shop has a range of resources for teachers considering teaching about INDIA.

A TOP-SPEC book written by Gill Miller & Sue Warn on the new Superpowers of India and China (some sample materials are available)
An INDIA map
A series of DVDs made for the GA in association with Pumpkin.
There are 4 DVDs in the series, and there are discounts for ordering more than one disc.

A sample of the DVDs can be seen on the YouTube ChannelPumpkin which has clips from lots of DVDs to whet your appetite.

A Primary Super-schemes book on a village in India.
Plus the classic Ladakh and Chembakolli photopacks....

Don't forget that GA members get big discounts in the shop, so JOIN NOW.

Coverage of the Commonwealth Games on the BBC

Suresh Kalmadi at the Opening Ceremony:
"India is ready to host the Commonwealth Games. We have the second fastest-growing economy in the world. There have been delays and challenges but we have risen to the challenges and we can do it. Despite the adverse publicity, all the Commonwealth nations have stood by India. This Games will be the largest in history."

2010-10-02T19:08:00.001Z

2 great videos made by Dave Holmes.
The first is shot in London and provides some simple ideas for ethnographic fieldwork data collection.... "people watching"...

The second is particularly helpful.
It is a short video featuring Nick Blunsum: the Head of Geography at Kingsmead Community School

What's great is that Nick talks about the impact of going through the process of gaining the Geographical Association's Secondary Geography Quality Mark.

He talks about "evaluating what was good and developing areas that needed improvement" and also "giving back some of the control to students to stop the lessons being too teacher led..." - some good advice on controlled assessment too....

Thanks for sharing these Dave, and to @GeogAdviser for the tip off on Twitter....

2010-09-29T10:40:00.000Z

For the last 3 or 4 years now, I have been involved in posting something on BLOG ACTION DAY on the particular theme of the year.

The theme this year is WATER.
The Vimeo video sets the scene...

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Change.org|Start Petition

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion around an important issue that impacts us all.

Our Goal

First and last, the purpose of Blog Action Day is to create a discussion. We ask bloggers to take a single day out of their schedule and focus it on an important issue.

By doing so on the same day, the blogging community effectively changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on that issue.

Out of this discussion naturally flow ideas, advice, plans, and action. In 2007 with the theme of the environment, we saw bloggers running environmental experiments, detailing innovative ideas on creating sustainable practices, and focusing their audience's attention on organizations and companies promoting green agendas. In 2008 we covered the theme of poverty, and similarly focused the blogging community's energies around discussing the wide breadth of the issue from many perspectives and identifying innovative and unexpected solutions. Last year, the conversation around climate change brought our voices around the globe to discuss an issue that threatens us all and mobilized tens of thousands of people to get more involved in the movement for a more sustainable future. This year, with the theme of Water, we are eager to shed light on this often-overlooked topic.

GET BLOGGING ON THE 15th of OCTOBER 2010

2010-09-16T19:13:00.001Z

You have a limited time to secure a place at the Microsoft UK Innovative Education Forum 2010

Following content is borrowed from David Rogers... (I could type it all out myself, but....)

The 7th Microsoft Innovative Education Forum is a one-day conference, free of charge to all teachers and educators who wish to attend and will look to address the theme of ‘Connecting Learners, Connecting Teachers.’

This forum aims to connect Teachers with Teachers, Educators with Educators. Allowing you to share expertise and learn from each other. Giving insights into how you can connect your students with technology and connect them with their learning.
This year the Forum is being held at the Hilton Deansgate Hotel in Manchester on the 30^th Nov.

We have a packed agenda with Keynote speakers at the event will be the world renowned Prof. Sugata Mitra famous for his ‘Hole in the wall’ project and Michael Furdyk CEO of the young person’s online community , Taking IT Global.
In addition, Delegates will be able to choose from a range of practical workshops covering areas such as using free software and Web 2.0 technology, games based learning and managing innovation in schools.
Workshop 1- TakingITGlobal - Mandeep Atwal, TIGed UK
Workshop 2- Outdoor learning & technology - David Rogers, The Geography Collective
Workshop 3- From the cloud to the classroom, making innovation stick! - Guy Shearer, Head Teacher, Lodge Park Technology College
Workshop 4- Creative use of technology in the classroom - Dan Roberts, saltash.net community school
Workshop 5- Office 2010 in the Classroom – Stuart Ball – Microsoft Partners in Learning
Workshop 6- Kodu Games based learning - Nicki Maddam, Hartsdown Technology College, Margate
Find out more details about each workshop here>>
What’s on your mind?
For the first time we are holding an Innovative Teacher Meet, 29 Nov. at 7:30pm
Join us for drinks, canapés and a series of TeachMeet style pitches from leading teachers at Hilton’s vibrant Cloud 23 bar, providing 360-degree views of Manchester.
Share with like-minded teachers in a series of 3-minute open pitches.
Also, find out who are Microsoft’s 2010 Award-Winning Innovative Educators. The awards will be presented at this event, to Teachers who have submitted projects that illustrate the innovative use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. Not only will they receive award recognition, but have the chance to be invited to The European Education Forum being held in Moscow next year. These project will be on display at the event.
Don’t miss out, register todayhttp://uk.partnersinlearningnetwork.com

I shall be there at the Teachmeet and also the main event...
See you there...

2010-09-12T19:50:00.001Z

The Cape Farewell voyages aim to bring a cultural response to the issue of Climate Change.

Previous voyages involved Anthony Gormley, and Rachel Whiteread, who was inspired to fill the turbine hall at Tate Modern with white cubes.

When teaching the now sadly ex-Pilot GCSE Geography course a few years back, I used the Cape Farewell pack that the Geographical Association produced.
The blog posts that relate to my studies of this EXTREME ENVIRONMENT are available by following THIS LINK to the blog: you'll see student work and a range of other resources which I hope you might still find useful...

The latest Cape Farewell expedition is going to follow the route shown on the map above, and it has JUST SET OFF... you can follow if for the next few weeks by visiting the CAPE FAREWELL WEBSITE, or following CAPE FAREWELL on TWITTER.

2010-09-06T12:54:00.001Z

Welcome back to the new academic year !

I hope the first day is going well. My daughter started secondary school today, and my son a new primary school, so my educational adventure continues over 40 years since I first passed through the doors of my own first school: Northfield Lane Infants School, Wickersley.
For those starting school as a teacher for the first time, the GA has produced a new resource: an NQT SURVIVAL KIT.

If you know an NQT, please direct them to this resource: a lot of it is not 100% geography specific: it's just solid advice...

This is not a 'completed resource'. We would really appreciate any updates for the resource - send us your experiences, thoughts, ideas and tips for fellow colleagues who are starting out on their professional journey.

2010-09-05T14:39:00.001Z

Just caught up with the publication of a piece by Professor David Lambert in the TES, published on the 27th of August, while I was away on holiday. I saw the original piece, and haven't checked yet for any possible editing of the piece for publication. It was titled "Crack curriculum's core and open a world of opportunity"

If politicians want more focus on knowledge, subject teachers should decide what is crucial

The Government appears determined to reform the school curriculum again. This is something that some teachers may resist - it will appear as yet more change, when not enough time has been allowed for the last alterations to settle. And because of the return to "knowledge" as opposed to "skills", changes could be accompanied by much Gradgrind-sounding rhetoric about facts and old-fashioned subjects.

It could sound like a rush to restore a golden age of subjects past, and undo the curriculum reforms of the last government. However, if we can just stop dodging the imagined swinging pendulum for one minute, perhaps we can see a more progressive future, which is in teachers' hands. Teachers should seize this chance to get stuck into the knowledge question rather than collectively avoid it, which has in some ways been the story of recent times.

The professional language invented over the past 10 years is the language of pedagogy. This is no bad thing in itself, of course, but pedagogy has become so dominant that it is now confused with its apparently weaker cousin: curriculum. But it is the curriculum that teachers need to engage with.

At present, the subject curriculum is often referred to as the vehicle to "deliver" transferrable skills. This is wrong. It is pedagogy - the skills of doing and thinking - that is the vehicle. The curriculum is about the destination, the aims and goals, and is therefore a matter of serious moral deliberation.

Skills, on the other hand, are said to be value-free. But what shall we teach and how do we justify this? These are the important questions and they ought to be informed by what we think young people need to know.

The curriculum, like pedagogy, is about choices. It is, therefore, a part of what we have come to know as "professional judgment".

In the case of curriculum, the choices concern the selections of knowledge we try to teach. We make these selections according to principles we value, governed by our sense of educational purpose.

A curriculum shaped by whim, the topics in the news and contemporary themes of "relevance" - or, worse still, policy imperatives laid down by the Government - is likely to be incoherent, shallow and like junk food: deeply unsatisfying after the initial fat and sugar rush.

So this is why the subject disciplines matter. Geography is a good case in point. It is an ancient human fascination: its big idea is to try to make sense of ourselves at home on planet Earth. Mapping the world was, and is, fundamental. Today the project is augmented by all kinds of technologies including geographical information systems. But it is useful to consider for one moment what it means to know a bit of geography.

This is particularly important because these days, thanks to the internet and Google Earth, sat-nav and mobile phones, everyone knows some geography. Furthermore, we all have a geographical existence: we live somewhere, shop somewhere and have relatives and friends dotted around the globe.

This realisation has encouraged a lot of interest in "everyday geographies" - but again, let us pause for thought. Is our interest in everyday geographies curriculum-based or is it more a matter of pedagogy? Every teacher knows the strengths of working from the known and what is familiar to children - this is sound pedagogy. But in curriculum terms it is a betrayal not to move to the unknown and unfamiliar. Curriculum goals must be in the driving seat.

Part of the unknown for most young people consists of what is sometimes called "core knowledge", a component of our cultural literacy. This includes locational knowledge - also known as geographical facts, or what the Geographical Association's manifesto refers to as the subject's "vocabulary".

It is important to embrace this in school because this knowledge is not easily developed in everyday life. And yet, it is knowledge that helps make sense of information encountered in everyday life. It helps us function in society. If there is a move to identify subject essentials, or core knowledge, let us engage with it at face value. Instead of shrinking from the curriculum debate, it is time for teachers to take back intellectual responsibility for their work.

- The Geographical Association manifesto is at: www.geography.org.uk/adifferentview

HOW DOES 'CORE KNOWLEDGE' FIT IN GEOGRAPHY?

The good news is that absolutely necessary core knowledge is not a large component of the geography curriculum. It can be taught via the regular use of atlases, occasional quizzes and other enjoyable and simple devices that form part of the repertoire of careful teaching.

It can be thought of as the extensive knowledge base upon which more intensive geographical case studies and inquiries can acquire deeper contextual meaning. To illustrate: can we really expect to be able to engage with global climate change meaningfully, without a mental framework that would include naming the oceans and some of the world's ocean currents? Without such knowledge, we are literally disabled to some degree.

We can incorporate it, as many careful geography teachers already do, into the broader geography curriculum. Geographical vocabulary is powerful, but so, too, is its grammar or syntax captured by its key ideas such as place, space and environment.

A person growing up in the 21st century as a global citizen (and all that implies) is at a disadvantage without geographical knowledge - economically, culturally and politically. How can we make any of the personal decisions that already confront us every day about energy, food and water security without geographical knowledge?

Understanding geographical perspectives contributes to our capabilities as educated individuals and members of society.

Professor David Lambert, Chief executive of the Geographical Association

2010-08-19T12:38:00.000Z

There was some exciting news earlier this week !

Hans Rosling is the Director of the Gapminder Foundation, and produced one of the most exciting tools for geographers in recent times: GAPMINDER (now in a desktop version too)

Thanks in part to some work by our colleague Bob Lang earlier in the year, it is now confirmed that Hans will be doing the keynote lecture at the Geographical Association's conference at the University of Surrey in Guildford in April 2011.

One for your diaries: for the chance to see Hans in action - get a flavour of his presentations by watching this TED TALK.

Online booking for the conference is now available!

GA members get substantial discounts!

Full time and PGCE students get FREE registration!

Delegate fees have been frozen to 2009 levels !

Follow the GA on Twitter (@The_GA) with the hashtag: #gaconf11

This year, the conference will also be raising money for ACTION AID: the President's chosen charity.

2010-08-16T19:59:00.000Z

You can now show your appreciation of all things geographical by shopping at the new

GA ONLINE SHOP....

The shop is organised through CafePress, and each item is individually manufactured and shipped.

Get in touch if you want to suggest other items, or colours in addition to those that we have already added.

I have just done some shopping of my own, and will post a picture of myself in my new GA shirt once it arrives...

2010-08-16T19:54:00.000Z

A few months ago, Tim Handley, a PGCE student at UEA hosted the first Teachmeet in East Anglia, and also started to collate tips for fellow PGCE tips using the hashtag #pgcetips

A few months later, with the help of a range of people, he collated these into an e-book.

The finished book is now available online.

It can be downloaded, or a hard copy can be purchased via Lulu for just £6.91

I was delighted to contribute an article on Curriculum making to the book.

The article can be seen thanks to SCRIBD.

I recommend that you follow Tim as he undertakes his NQT year in a Norfolk primary school. Tim's blog makes good reading as he reflects on his educational journey.

And if you, like Tim, finished your PGCE year last year you may be interested in 3 regional events that we are going to be running in March 2011.

They are going to be designed specifically for NQT Geographers.

You'll spend the day working with me on a range of projects and workshops designed to get you up and running for the first phase of your career....

More details on the GA website soon...

Every child matters, and so does every geography teacher...

2010-08-01T20:04:00.001Z

Yesterday was the big day for the launch of our Mission:Explore London iPhone app.

The app was developed in association with the WORKSHOP.

If you don't have an iPhone / iPod touch / iPad (and if not, why not ?) you can see all the missions on our MISSION EXPLORE WEBSITE and also remember to BUY THE BOOK...

If you have an iPhone, download the app and give us a review / rating please...

We had the Golden Hinde booked for the event.

Here's a slideshow of the first part of the event.

Thanks to everyone who came along and enjoyed the evening...

2010-07-26T19:28:00.000Z

The Academies Bill is being debated. This could well affect hundreds of thousands of pupils and teachers... and look at the turn out of MPs....

2010-07-25T21:00:00.002Z

I have said before (and also used it as part of my Chartered Geographer update evidence last year) my job is like having 365 days of CPD a year...

I learn things every day from the people I work with, and who get in touch with us. When I'm being asked questions all the time, or asked to present a session on something that I need to be authoritative about, it's a challenge. This requires a lot of reading, and an attempt to keep on top of a huge amount of new thinking on curriculum and pedagogy.

Here is a piece of imaginative writing by my colleague Ben Major, who works on our website, and other projects. It imagines a world where geography had not been "invented"...

The Invention of Geography

Let us know what you think of Ben's piece...

2010-07-24T21:29:00.001Z

Have been following up something from earlier today about the sounds of Sheffield....

Steel, Peach and Tozers (or Steelos) as everyone called it, was the place where my dad started work in the mid 1950s...

He was a draughtsman before moving into engineering role, and moved to a number of other mills, including Hatfields (now Meadowhall) before finishing at Aldwarke Works, Parkgate almost 50 years later...

I remember doing a photography project on the area between Rotherham and Sheffield and its dereliction in the late 1980s, after the earlier industrial development, with its attendant environmental implications.

Came across an album called THE SONG OF STEEL. Listen to the album on SPOTIFY if you have access to this...

One of the things that also features on the disc is the mention of "beer notes". My dad used to be one of the people who handed out beer notes which could be exchanged at the Temple pub just outside the foundry (which is now a museum called Magna, and also a training centre where I've presented several times...)

BBC Radio Ballads is a sound portrait, complete with songs from artists including the wonderful timbre of Kate Rusby.

There are loads of interviews with people who remember what life was like back then.

This is a wonderful sound portait of a place, and a lost industrial landscape....

2010-07-24T16:01:00.001Z

One of the most frequent requests that I get at the GA is for a site that can produce simple outline maps of counties that you can then customise for your own use. That is now possible thanks to the appearance of Step Map.

Have spent part of today making a guide to using this website, and am discovering even more features as I work through it.

Has a whole host of weather symbols, so could make a weather map...

There are also options to choose a whole range of maps in different colours, with outlines, shading and backgrounds.

You can even choose to have an image as the background to the map: your face in the shape of a country of your choosing, or a map to show a person or item that is associated with a country.

Other symbols include sets of arrows in various directions and (like Google Earth) custom icons can also be used

Some example to follow perhaps...

Give it a go...

2010-07-16T19:22:00.001Z

There are apparently 93 different brown signs as shown on maps and roadsigns. They denote locations which are of tourist interest. I know this because I've been following the Brown Sign Way...

AMANDA HONE's BROWN SIGN BLOG is going to document visits to as many Brown sign locations as possible.

Why not explore the BROWN SIGNS in your local area - once you start noticing them, you'll find them everywhere (although I might have an advantage living in a tourist area of Norfolk...)

In the village where I used to live there was an interesting labelling. The brown sign used the generic "FARM PARK" to point to the attraction, which was actually called "PARK FARM": some locals assumed the sign had been made with the words the wrong way round...

One of my nearest brown signs.... picture by Alan Parkinson

Follow Amanda's progress on TWITTER and check out the blog.

And watch out for a forthcoming article in Ordnance Survey "Mapping News"...

2010-07-16T10:51:00.001Z

A very exciting new Google Earth layer was launched this week.

The layer has been produced in association with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and shows information about a possible 4 degree rise in temperature

A range of YOUTUBE videos are available for use with the layer.

The Tyndall Centre were involved in its creation...

Don't forget the Teachers TV programmes which I was involved in, which has a focus on a poem looking at various degrees of warming and the potential impact on the UK.

2010-07-13T11:08:00.001Z

The GA is carrying out a CPD survey with regard to its CPD offerings for next year.

Please go along and spare a couple of minutes of your time to let us shape our courses and other materials for the year ahead. What are your priorities ? What do you want from us ?

Be careful what you wish for, you could end up spending the day with me...

I look forward to a whole range of new venues and events for 2010-11 !

2010-07-11T15:43:00.000Z

New life pushing up through the ash deposits from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano: image by Val Vannet, taken last week

After many years of waiting, it seems like I will finally be going to Iceland later this year.

I will be accompanying teachers on an inspection visit to Iceland in October 2010.

The visit is organised by the Brighton based company TRAVELBOUND

Download an itinerary HERE (PDF download) and I might have the chance to spend a few days with you exploring and curriculum making...

Some of the places that are here are on the lists of places that must be seen when visiting Iceland...

Blue Lagoon near Reykjavik
Hekla
Solheimajokull Glacier trek
Kerid Crater and Thingvellir National Park
Reykjavik
Geysirs and waterfalls
Hellishollar

Why not request a copy of the brochure, or visit the Travelbound website to find out more.

If you'd like to come on the inspection visit, the price is £199, and you will need to do the following:

Contact James Walker on: 01273 265 266 for details.

I will be blogging the whole process of preparing for the visit, as well as creating an online home for a range of curriculum making resources. One outcome will be a unit for KS3 with the title (N)ICELAND ICELAND....

Currently exploring the workings of WORDPRESS to create the new blog, which is now available to view (although there's not much there yet) at (N)ICELAND ICELAND.

If you have been to Iceland and would like to contribute to the new blog in any way, please get in touch.

Special thanks to Val Vannet for the use of her excellent images....

2010-07-08T18:25:00.001Z

Urban Earth is a project developed by Dan Raven Ellison.

I have blogged about it on numerous occasions before as a way for young people to re-present the urban spaces that they inhabit.

Ben Major has put together a great resource called URBAN STORIES on the GA website.

This suggests some additional ideas for using Dan's original URBAN EARTH walks and images....

2010-07-02T11:43:00.001Z

Back from Glastonbury....

2010-06-22T18:42:00.001Z

Gone to Glastonbury....

Updates via Twitter @GeoBlogs until Monday :)

Picture by chelsea steve on Flickr - CC licensed

2010-06-19T10:58:00.001Z

Some tickets arrived this morning...

Now very excited..

See you in the Green Kids field for some Guerilla Geography...

I will be writing up a series of posts about the experience, and also producing some links and resources to supplement existing ideas relating to music festivals...

Just a reminder of the nice things people are saying about our Mission Explore book...

"Mission:Explore is a brilliant way to stimulate children's and young people's interest in their social and physical environment, their curiosity and their sense of the absurd. The case for risk as a necessary and exciting part of life, that needs handling intelligently, is acknowledged well. This is geography, and fieldwork, at its most creative, and has the potential to inspire a new generation of thoughtful, ethical and courageous geographers." Susan Buckingham, Professor of Geography

“it is very important for children to experience adventurous play and risk so they can learn to manage risk and keep themselves safe. Mission:Explore helps to do this in a fun and exciting way.” The Child Safety Education Coalition

"Should be compulsory reading for all university geography students" Professor Danny Dorling

2010-06-16T11:32:00.001Z

It was over to Nottingham today for a meeting of representatives from many of the Subject Associations at the new headquarters of NAACE.

For those who don't know, NAACE is the ICT Association, and is the professional association for those concerned with advancing education through the appropriate use of ICT. It also has a key role in the ICT Mark for schools.

Quite a few familiar faces from work that I did last year to produce a booklet for the teaching of Functional Skills - you can download if from HERE by the way - it's great !

NAACE have also produced a range of FREE CPD courses which although they might sound like they are just for ICT teachers, would probably be of value to geography teachers too. They can be found by following this link: ICT CPD 4 FREE

Met Peter Twining from VITAL, who offer a range of CPD options too. Their website describes Vital as:

a professional development programme that aims to revitalise the teaching of IT and the use of ICT across the broader curriculum. It is aimed at anyone teaching or working in state-funded education in England.

Courses are delivered by the Open University, and funded by the DfE.

The day involved a series of discussions on the use of ICT to support / deliver CPD, the use that subject specialists were making of ICT to support their pedagogy, and how the impact of its use was being evaluated. I contributed some thoughts, and talked about the various projects that the GA has been involved in in this area, including the one on GEOGRAPHY AND CAREERS that has just gone live.

Coincidentally, I got back home to find details (via Twitter) of a very useful GUARDIAN article, which talked about the sad demise of BECTa, and celebrated the impact that it was having in supporting teachers. The article featured the results of a survey of teachers, and also a quote from Bernadette Brooks of NAACE:

"Technology has moved on dramatically so training has to match that pace of change. I don't see that there will be a reduction in that. ICT training isn't done. We will keep needing to invest in training for ICT teaching and learning. It is not just about using the kit but about finding innovative ways to use the technology available to us in the classroom."

The trend was towards more informal forms of training, mixing face-to-face and online. "Teachers increasingly feel more comfortable with 'bite-sized' training. They don't necessarily want something incredibly formal."

2010-06-11T19:46:00.001Z

I'm getting excited about my first visit to Glastonbury, to do missions with MISSION EXPLORE and members of the Geography Collective...

To get me in the mood, I've downloaded the wonderful MISSION EXPLORE festival guide from the wonderful GEOGRAPHY COLLECTIVE BLOG page...

Come and see us in the Green Kids Field...

I hope we won't be needing those...

Going to be working on some resources on music festivals of course too....

All images on this post by the wonderful Tom Morgan-Jones

2010-06-03T09:14:00.000Z

Can you have such a thing ?

Image shared under Creative Commons by Flickr user Nancy Wombat

2010-05-29T08:58:00.000Z

Thanks to various contacts for leading me to this video made by some of the Google Earth folks...

2010-05-24T20:13:00.001Z

The three programmes that I recently consulted on for Teachers TV were added to the website on Friday...
There are 3 programmes in the series.

Each was developed by Beth Newell and colleagues at Brook Lapping from original ideas which we discussed in an Italian cafe in Cambridge last year...

Each programmes last for 15 minutes

The first one: Today's Forecast, follows a line across the country from east to west and interviews a number of people whose jobs are dependent on the weather...

The second: The Great Storm tells the story of the 1987 Great Storm, but from the perspective of the storm itself...

The third: Degrees of Change is based on a specially commissioned poem by Mark Cowan and explores the possible impacts of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 degrees of warming in the future...

I'd love any feedback if you watch them, and particularly if you use them in the classroom....

2010-05-17T20:14:00.001Z

My local town was in the news this week because of comments apparently made by local Labour candidate.

Update: This story also made Have I Got News for You as well...

Thanks to my colleague Ruth Totterdell for giving me a link to the work of Ben Hennig, who is a Postgraduate Researcher at the University of Sheffield's renowned Social and Spatial Inequalities Research Group (SASI)

He has an excellent blog, which includes some of the work that he gets up to over at SASI. This also had an election theme to it this week, with some of the images that the group has been producing.

Thanks to Ben for allowing me permission to use the major image that is included in this blog post: a summary of the results of the election.

Head over to WORLDMAPPER for plenty more of these images.

2010-04-02T09:18:00.001Z

This is one of those "let's have a go at this..." moments.

It's a 'development' of some of the excellent QR code work that Noel Jenkins has done. I read this week that some graffiti artists are now using QR codes to 'tag' their work...

The idea of tagging is spreading (apparently there is no # tag on an Apple keyboard, although hashtags are now becoming very common...)

It's obviously important to tag resources so that people can find them, photos are tagged on Flickr so they can be searched, and an extension of that is geotagging, which is now built in to some digital cameras, and is added to photos taken with my iPhone for example.

So TOUCHATAG was introduced to me by John Davitt via some tweets and details from a conference that I followed remotely. John is also planning an event called Learning on the Beach #lob10 in Ireland which I would have attended as 'this year's Islay 2020' style CPD, but instead I will be at Glastonbury with the Geography Collective.

Touchatag uses RFID tags: these are Radio Frequency Identification tags (more later)

I bought a tag reader, and a starter pack of 10 tags from the Touchatag shop.

The phrase that drew me in was the chance to create an "internet of things"....

The tags can be linked to actions or resources, and it's this aspect that I will be exploring further...

Image Alan Parkinson

The reader and software are now installed, so the next thing is to come up with some activities.

A TOUR is available to introduce the idea of what can be done.

For example, a cube with a series of tags could be created and by placing the appropriate side of the cube on the reader, an action is triggered, which could be related to e-mails, music, videos, Twitter or some other application - the tag could be hidden inside an object or stuck to it e.g. the bottom of a coffee mug, or a DVD case. The objects could be related to the lesson activity that is planned, or provide instructions or guidance for students, or perhaps bring up clues as to the nature of the activity that has been planned... This is the next stage...

Just considering what stories I can attach to objects, and how I can use that for geographical learning....

From what you've read on this post - does anyone have any thoughts on how it could be used ?

Would be interested in developing some collaborative resources on the use of these tags, and will share some of the outcomes later in the year at a few planned sessions....

Also been looking at the existing uses of RFID tags, and there are quite a few 'geographical' contexts that could be used with students to introduce the idea of what they are, and let the students create the ideas in the classroom...

Tags in the ears of farm animals, such as cows, so productivity can be mapped as the animal comes in for milking, and each animal can be identified... - could be mentioned when looking at agriculture or food production - also useful for tracking spread of infections
Tags inside library books, so they can be scanned rather than physically stamping library cards and books etc. These systems may well be in lots of school resource centres / libraries
They can be placed in vehicles so that they can be tracked for congestion charging purposes or road tolls
My Barclaycard is able to use contactless technology to pay for things, not that I've ever had the opportunity yet...
My Oyster Card does something similar, and these are used by thousands of London travellers every hour...
Some schools are tagging pupils: RFID can be placed in uniforms or school bags and used to track attendance, or students leaving the school site during the school day

A useful document hosted on SCRIBD gives a summary of the technology:

RFID Technology

Not everyone is happy about their use. There are campaigns against their use to track activities and movements of people.

A lengthy post, but an idea I shall return to...

2010-04-01T21:22:00.000Z

Over to Aylesbury yesterday to Millennium House for the first meeting in connection with the new strategic partnership between ESRI (UK) and the Geographical Association. ESRI (UK) are also the first GA corporate member.

This has been quite a long time in the planning, and was announced over the weekend, but there will be more on this to come at the GA Conference next week.

GIS is now part of all key stages, and is specifically mentioned in the KS3 Programme of Study.

From the press release:

This new partnership brings together ESRI (UK)’s expertise in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and the GA’s understanding of the learning and teaching of geography.

With GIS now a compulsory part of the national curriculum, the organisations will combine forces to help teachers respond to the curriculum changes and introduce GIS into geography lessons.

The signing of this first partnership agreement is a new departure for the GA. With funding in place for the next three years the GA can plan ahead, working with ESRI (UK) to introduce the power of GIS technology to schools as part of its mission of furthering the study, learning and teaching of geography. Last summer ESRI (UK) responded to the curriculum changes, launching its GIS for Schools Programme which offers GIS software specially designed for schools and a wealth of resources. In an online resource centre teachers can watch video tutorials and download step by step lesson plans on topics ranging from tracking hurricanes to the spread of swine flu.

“We are delighted and honoured to be working with the GA in this ground-breaking partnership,” said Dr Richard Waite, Managing Director, ESRI (UK). “We believe passionately that GIS brings a new dimension to the teaching of geography, giving students both a deeper understanding of their subject and skills they can take into the workplace. More than 120 schools have now signed up to our GIS for Schools Programme.

Working with the GA and its members we can build on this success over the next three years, encouraging more schools to use GIS and creating a community of teachers who will share their knowledge of GIS, their enthusiasm and their resources.”

As part of the partnership, I will be spending some time working on resources, training and the GIS for Schools Programme. This already contains a growing range of resources.

There are 2 key packages from ESRI.

Digital Worlds (was HIGHLY COMMENDED in the GA awards 2009)

ArcView 9.3 (industry compatible GIS which has tremendous potential...)

There is also the MY GIS support area for teachers....

As part of the day, John Lyon and I were shown the ENTERPRISE LAB. This is a purpose-built room at ESRI UK HQ, which has the ability to be used in a variety of scenarios.

Digital Worlds costs £250+VAT per year, which gives access to the full range of teaching and learning materials as well as training materials, such as a series of podcasts which work through the key skills that are needed to make the most of the software. The key element of this, as with ArcView is the access to a huge range of DATA.

ArcView costs £350+VAT per year, which gives access to further materials

At the GA Conference next week, Dr. Richard Waite of ESRI (UK) will deliver the Public Lecture on Thursday the 8th of April.

Dr Waite will explore what GIS means for teachers and students, explaining why GI skills are becoming increasingly important in the workplace, how GIS can enhance the teaching of a broad range of subjects, and how geography teachers can lead the way.

2010-03-31T20:52:00.001Z

The Mission : Explore book is finally out in print and available from tomorrow....

Buy as many copies as you can !!

Come and see us at the GA Conference

2010-03-25T09:33:00.001Z

Geographical Association and ESRI (UK) announce sponsorship agreement
Leading organisations join forces to help schools introduce GIS into lessons

23 March 2010 - The Geographical Association (GA), the geography subject association, and ESRI (UK), the UK’s leading GIS software provider, today announce that ESRI (UK) has become the GA’s first corporate member and strategic partner. This new partnership brings together ESRI (UK)’s expertise in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and the GA’s understanding of the learning and teaching of geography. With GIS now a compulsory part of the national curriculum, the organisations will combine forces to help teachers respond to the curriculum changes and introduce GIS into geography lessons.

The signing of this first partnership agreement is a new departure for the GA. With funding in place for the next three years the GA can plan ahead, working with ESRI (UK) to introduce the power of GIS technology to schools as part of its mission of furthering the study, learning and teaching of geography.

Last summer ESRI (UK) responded to the curriculum changes, launching its GIS for Schools Programme which offers GIS software specially designed for schools and a wealth of resources. In an online resource centre teachers can watch video tutorials and download step by step lesson plans on topics ranging from tracking hurricanes to the spread of swine flu.

“We are delighted and honoured to be working with the GA in this groundbreaking partnership,” said Dr Richard Waite, Managing Director, ESRI (UK). “We believe passionately that GIS brings a new dimension to the teaching of geography, giving students both a deeper understanding of their subject and skills they can take into the workplace. More than 120 schools have now signed up to our GIS for Schools Programme. Working with the GA and its members we can build on this success over the next three years, encouraging more schools to use GIS and creating a community of teachers who will share their knowledge of GIS, their enthusiasm and their resources.”

Professor David Lambert, Chief Executive of the GA, commented:

“The GA looks forward to embarking on this strategic partnership with such a significant and influential company as ESRI (UK). With 6000 members we reach into most secondary schools in England - and a good many primary schools - with support and guidance for teachers of geography.
Driven by our charitable mission, to further geographical knowledge and understanding through education, we are passionate about the role of geography in schools and its engagement of young people to become informed and capable citizens. GIS can add enormous value to geography lessons and we are keen to encourage teachers to integrate it appropriately into their creative ‘curriculum making’. ”

The first milestone of this partnership will be the GA’s Annual Conference at the University of Derby, 8 - 10 April. In the public lecture preceding the conference Dr Waite will explore what GIS means for teachers and students, explaining why GI skills are becoming increasingly important in the workplace, how GIS can enhance the teaching of a broad range of subjects, and how geography teachers can lead the way.

ESRI (UK) is the leading provider of GIS software and services in the UK and part of the global ESRI network. As geographic information is at the heart of most organisations, GIS has an increasingly important role to play in helping businesses become more profitable and public services more efficient. ESRI (UK) supplies a wide range of customers in many different markets, including business, local and central government, defence, the emergency services, utilities (water, electricity and gas) and telecommunications.

The potential of GIS as an educational tool has recently been recognised, and GIS is now part of the national curriculum. ESRI (UK) has worked with teachers for many years, but in 2009 responded to the curriculum changes by launching its GIS for Schools Programme. This offers everything teachers need to integrate GIS into lessons: GIS software specially tailored for schools, maps and data, and both classroom and self-learning materials.
For more information about ESRI (UK)’s GIS for Schools Programme, please visit www.esriuk.com/schools

About the Geographical Association
The GA is the subject association for geography in schools nationally. Long established and with healthy finances, the Association has a strong and enduring presence in primary and secondary education. Supported by over 6000 members, the Association produces a magazine for teachers, three professional journals, an extensive and well used website, a face-to-face and online CPD programme and a wide range of professional publications.
We work well with government departments, statutory bodies and others in mainstream teacher support. We also have a range of partners with whom we undertake more leading edge kind of project work. In addition to ‘support and guidance’ the GA occupies a subject leadership role taking its cue from the 2009 manifesto A Different View, which asks teachers to commit to geography as a subject specialism not as an end in itself, but as a dynamic medium for education.

From its early origins, the GA has been committed to geography in education using the contemporary technology of the age.

In 1893, this was the lantern slide. Today it includes GIS.

I will be quite heavily involved in this partnership, so there are some exciting times ahead

2010-03-23T11:02:00.000Z

Thanks to those who came along to my lecture last night at Easton College, near Norwich.

It was my Presidential lecture for the GA Norfolk branch, and a joint event with the Royal Geographical Society and thanks once again to the Stannards for their hospitality and organisation.

The presentation I used is below, although you won't get the full story of course without the 50 minutes of me talking over it...

Very flat, norfolk

View more presentations from GeoBlogs.

There were some interesting comments after the lecture with respect to the (inevitably) partial nature of the presentation: some areas of Norfolk were not featured to the degree that others would have expected, and perhaps reflects my own knowledge and experiences of the county.

There was little mention of Broadland, and nothing on Breckland, although I passed through both within the last fortnight.

Also some discussion on the political importance of place, and some of the potential future changes in Norfolk's landscape...

Thanks to all those who contributed to the lecture, particularly those who told me their "5 words that they thought of..." the results of that can be seen within the presentation....

2010-03-14T20:12:00.000Z

Images copyright Google

Google Street View has gone national

A huge update of Google's photography means that over 90% of the UK is now covered by the high resolution, 360 degree imagery along most roads in the UK

One of the first things that people would do perhaps would be to look at their own house, and the houses where they used to live....

Just done that myself, and you can see the house where I lived between 1977 and 1988 (ish) above, tho' it didn't look like that at the time...

There was a useful post on Simon Haughton's blog which suggested some geographical ideas for how the newly expanded Street View could be used in the classroom. Here are some (more):

1. Previewing a journey that is going to be made / risk assessments for fieldwork

2. Carrying out VIRTUAL FIELDWORK in an unfamiliar area

3. Investigate change over time in a local area

4. Clone Town / Land use surveys

5. Remodelling the models: transects from town centre outwards to test their validity

6. Comparing distant locations (Primary)

7. Taking a trip to the seaside

8. Play the "When were the images taken" game: look at clues in the state of buildings, traffic and people in the area, to see whether you can work out the time of year, or time of day, or day of the week when the cars must have taken the images...

My street was photographed in Summer, on a week-day judging by the images, but further towards the centre of the village the images turn to autumn...

9. Do a N, S, E and W, or 5 minutes in each direction from home etc.

10. Most URBAN fieldwork could be done in a slightly adapted way using the images, perhaps supported with some Flip video filming / audio files ? (remember that this is NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL FIELDWORK which MUST continue....)

I have been updating a presentation I used last year, when Street View was limited to just a few major cities, which provided ideas for geography teachers on how they might use Street View in the classroom. Will share that here when it is complete....

Predictably, there has been a little kerfuffle in the Daily Mail...

Read the article and comments for a variety of views on the role of this sort of technology...

And just to show another feature: the maps can be embedded into blogs...

Drag the YELLOW PEGMAN onto the map in the appropriate place, and the Street View images will appear....

View Larger Map

Can also be viewed on my iPhone, which is remarkable really... The UK in your pocket....

2010-03-08T21:53:00.001Z

This is free mapping software, which comes with a range of sample maps, and the option to buy Ordnance Survey mapping tiles at cheap prices.

Works very well, and connects well with Google Earth....

Why not download it and give it a go. Compares well with other online mapping tools....

2010-03-02T21:52:00.001Z

The Mission Explore crew are going on the road this summer.

You can catch us at the events listed above, with some others still to be added as we take the idea of Mission Explore to a range of audiences.

Mission Explore is coming out soon in book form - I spent some time proof-reading the resources earlier, and they are looking cool. They can be pre-ordered for £6....

You can also help yourself to cool Mission Explore gear via our ONLINE SHOP.

Busy times for the GEOGRAPHY COLLECTIVE

I'll see you at GLASTONBURY - need to hunt out my loon pants....

2010-02-28T20:57:00.001Z

On Wednesday of next week, I will be in Lincoln at this event.
It is a major event held on the Lincoln Showground in the EPIC Centre, and I will be sharing the duties of manning the GA stand with John Halocha: the GA's PRESIDENT.

They are expecting over 2000 visitors, so if you are one of those, please come along and say hello....

Over 100 exhibitors including:

A school garden from Inspirational Gardens, Fairtrade Foundation, Geographical Association, Expo Chef, Resike, Cyclemagic, National Trust, CfBT Talent Lincolnshire, Pulp-works, Gelders, 4solar, Targeted Mental Health, and a Speakers Corner.

For any adults supporting their school to become more sustainable including headteachers, teachers, bursars, governors there are many talks including:

Achieving sustainable communities through sustainable schools - DCSF and Ofsted
From Curriculum To Classroom… QCDA Primary Curriculum
10:10 - a smart way to cut energy demand in your school
Developing school grounds with Learning through Landscapes

For students of all ages, activities include:

M.A.D mountain bike stunt team demonstrations and coaching
A Million Feet to Copenhagen continued..... - paint your feet to pledge to reduce your carbon footprint
Garry Swotter and the Carbon Footprint
International Climate Change Champion speaker
Bollywood dancing
Forest Schools
Louder than Life music workshops in partnership with Lincolnshire Music Service

2010-02-28T20:10:00.001Z

Map of the Rhubarb Triangle

Image by Flickr user net_efekt under Creative Commons

At this time of year, you will find rhubarb appearing in the shops. It will have been produced under forced conditions, (unless it is imported of course...) - English rhubarb is, of course, the best...

RHUBARB

The Daily Mail has a useful article on the Rhubarb Triangle, which was a favourite case study of Chris Durbin's.... (sadly our SLN conversations on the topic have disappeared....)

The unique vegetable - grown only by 12 producers in a 'rhubarb triangle' in West Yorkshire - has been granted Protected Designation of Origin status by the European Commission.

Producers now have the same geographical marketing protection afforded to more famous specialities such as Champagne, Parma ham, Cornish clotted cream and Roquefort cheese.

A really nice article on the BBC MAGAZINE site about the area known as the rhubarb triangle.

There is a good site by one of the producers: E Oldroyd and Sons (a great Yorkshire name) - it has details of their forcing shed tours. Just looking at the booking availability for a tour which I might try and organise the next time I'm up in Yorkshire. Have been round the sheds before - I used to pass through the area quite regularly as a student, and it's a really worthwhile experience...

Oh, and by the way, if you have a stained pan, boil up some rhubarb in it, and it will clean it up lovely....

2010-02-28T19:32:00.001Z

Here's one that got away...
Almost 2 years ago, Tom Barrett and I discussed an idea for a Google Earth grant. They were offering cash to start up projects using Google Earth in innovative ways...

We came up with an idea called STORYBOOK EARTH, which would gather and geolocate children's stories.

If anyone would like to give us some cash to get the idea off the ground, feel free to get in touch :)

2010-02-13T15:15:00.001Z

Image CC licensed by Flickr user raindog

A rare social event yesterday. After working on some projects, it was a train down to London to the BARBICAN: love the feel of it after dark when the apartment lights come on above the lake with the fountains and the seating pods. Inside is always buzzing too with a range of different people using it for different purposes. Outside there was some amazing snow which swirled around the place...
The occasion was a gig by Pat Metheny, who I first saw live in 1982 !! Have seen him numerous times since, most recently when his group performed "The Way Up"

The project is called ORCHESTRION - an earlier blog post contained a video, and this was the only UK date for the project.

There is a review on Jazzwise
And for a picture of the ORCHESTRION itself, see HERE - thanks to the Goldsmith family

A great concert: out to wander back along London Wall, guided by my iPhone to my hotel...

2010-02-11T17:02:00.001Z

On Wednesday night, I will be at the Barbican in the evening for a concert by Pat Metheny which promises to be a one-off evening: for a start it's the only UK date for Pat, and for the other, it features him with his ORCHESTRION.

2010-02-07T16:50:00.001Z

Image by Alan Parkinson

This weekend was spent in the august surroundings (although it was January) of Madingley Hall, to the North West of Cambridge, close to the American cemetery, and in beautiful rolling countryside.

The occasion was the annual Geography Teacher Educators' conference.

This year's was organised by Liz Taylor and colleagues at the University of Cambridge. I have known Liz for quite a while, as the school I used to teach at worked with Homerton College in Initial Teacher Training/Education - several colleagues started out on the PGCE course there.

I attended the first two days, with a dusting of snow overnight adding a touch of magic to the grounds. The food was great, comfortable accommodation, and a range of excellent sessions to attend. There were also some excellent local ales brewed by the City of Cambridge brewery: one of them: 'Scholars' Choice' was brewed specially for Madingley Hall, and was fairly delicious. I used my iPhone app to work out that it had travelled 12 miles.

I had not been aware of the historical significance of the venue, but this was made clear in an entertaining after dinner speech by Rex Walford.

It turns out that back in the 1960's Madingley was the location of a series of conferences which helped define and frame the shape of school geography for the next 20 years. The conferences were written up in a series of books and papers, and when I got home I realised I had a copy of the key book: "Frontiers in Geographical Teaching".

Rex, it turned out, had kept all the original materials from the conference(s) that he attended at the time, and had a lot of stories about the sessions, and their impact on him.

A range of resources from the conference will be appearing on the GA website - SOON !

If you can't wait, the presentation that I used at the conference is reproduced below, although without my inimitable exposition of course...

NQT 2.0

View more presentations from GeoBlogs.

2010-02-05T13:55:00.001Z

A new report published by Oxfam and IIIED is now available from the Oxfam site.

It is available to purchase, or as a FREE PDF download. (link starts download of the resource)

The report is called FAIR MILES.

I have had a quick look and it is a useful document. Thanks to @primageographer for the tipoff to this resource, which will prove useful for preparation for my GA Conference 2010 workshop on this topic....

Here's a description, taken from the Oxfam website:

Today’s food is well travelled. A pack of green beans in a Northern supermarket may have journeyed 6000 miles, or 60. But while food miles loom large in our carbon-aware times, transporting it counts for less than you might think. And there is a far bigger picture. Food is more than a plateful of emissions.

It’s a social, political and economic issue that involves millions of small farmers in poor countries who export produce to the North. They have built lives and livelihoods around this trade. By buying what they grow, you’ve clocked up ‘fair miles’.

This pocketbook delves into the realities of the produce trade between Africa and the UK, examining both sides of the equation in search of a diet that is ethically, as well as nutritionally, balanced.

2010-01-21T13:21:00.001Z

Georgie is a gorilla on a mission: a MISSION : EXPLORE LONDON mission...

Georgie is going to be in London this Saturday: the 16th of January and wants to carry out some special missions...

For more information see: GEORGIE NEEDS A MISSION on Mission Explore website...

Why not suggest a task for GEORGIE ??

You can send via TWITTER with the tag #GMission or #Gorillamission

If you add a comment here with a mission I'll make sure they get passed on too...

2010-01-07T17:19:00.000Z

It's been a while since we had a bit of jazz....

A very brief taster...

Got tickets for the Barbican in February...

Very excited to see how this turns out...

2010-01-04T10:45:00.000Z

Image by Alan Parkinson

For those who haven't heard (or are even remotely interested) I finally decided just after Christmas that what I really needed in my life was an iPhone. I opted for a 16Gb 3GS version in glossy white.

There are many reasons why I finally succumbed to the ever-so-shiny phone.

One of my thoughts was that I had seen geography colleagues using it in interesting ways in the classroom, and outside the classroom (the latter perhaps more than the former) and needed to investigate these by actually using them... and then reporting on them...

There were already some useful posts on the use of iPhones which have been building up over the last year or so since the 3G version of the phone was introduced.

Teachers using iPhones

Noel Jenkins posted an interesting thought on his DIGITAL GEOGRAPHY blog giving his thoughts - he hadn't got an iPhone at the time, but has now.

He has put it to good use with his QR CODE FIELDWORK work: WELLINGTON STORIES.

Had the pleasure of seeing Noel present this work down in Somerset at the end of last year.

Ollie Bray had already posted a series of posts on iPhone in education, originally posted back in 2009

Post 1 of 5 had information on an app called MIND MAKER: a mind mapping app

Post 2 of 5 had a post on TRACK ME app, which uses the GPS capability of the iPhone

Post 3 of 5 on iGLOW (which had a useful tip for adding a new ICON on a screen)

Post 3.5 of 5 on a SEISMOMETER app (which I downloaded)

Post 4 of 5 had information on Geography Fieldwork apps

Post 5 of 5 had information on an app called EARTHSCAPE

I also asked my PLN via Twitter, and got some recommendations. for apps.

Some of the websites which I use regularly also have iPhone apps, so I checked those out as well: FLICKR is my photo sharing APP of choice, and I also downloaded COOL IRIS for viewing them. Also the ANIMOTO app for watching videos I've produced, such as the movie for "a different view", and also Rain Today.

Image by Alan Parkinson

I also started a new iPHONE GEOGRAPHY GROUP on the GA Ning.

Here's the first page of the APPS I have so far. Got a 2nd page underway...

There are also some excellent features as part of the phone itself:

CAMERA and VIDEO CAMERA - obviously useful for story telling and fieldwork...

COMPASS - map orientation etc.

NOTES - no more clipboards

MAPS (using the built-in GPS) - endless potential here...

iTUNES and the iPOD settings for music and video and podcasts (including educational podcasts)

CLOCK: choose the WORLD CLOCK and add a range of cities that you are studying (quicker than the ones up on the wall...)

Also came across George Burgess's GCSE GEOGRAPHY revision app: GEOREV.

Might also check out the CLINOMETER, the GPS Cardinal, the RULER PHONE app, a Swiss Climate Change walk app, GEOTagging, We can take you there etc.

Got the BUMP app too - if you meet up, then feel free to BUMP me... Might get a chance at BETT in a couple of weeks time...

OK, so my iPhone adventure is underway...

Please let me know what your favourite 'educational'/geographical apps are...

Will be posting more on how I use my iPhone in geographical education during 2010

2009-12-20T14:31:00.001Z

Just got my RGS-IBG Bulletin for Spring 2010.

Some good events coming up, and discovered that I'm featured on p. 20...

This is my lecture at the Norfolk GA branch in March, when I'm exploring ideas of PLACE in the context of Norfolk...

I'll be using a few articles from the Autumn 2008 issue of GEOGRAPHY.

Remember that if you're a GA member, you can download the last 5 years issues of the journal(s) you subscribe to.

I'll be trailing some elements of the lecture over at the LOOK AT LANDSCAPES blog in the next few months. Also plan to write the lecture up and produce a resource that other colleagues can use on the meaning of "place"...

2009-12-13T16:01:00.002Z

Dan Raven Ellison has launched a new project URBAN TWEET DAY.

URBAN TWEET DAY is a side project of URBAN EARTH.

The idea is to record our perspective on our urban lives and habitat through an online stream of tweets that describe urban events and experiences as they happen.

By the end of the urban day we will have created a collaborative narrative - a descriptive portrait of urban life..

To take part all you need is:
1. The ability to Tweet (www.twitter.com)
2. To be in an urban area on Saturday 9th January 2010
3. To include #utday in each of your related tweets

We'll then be able to search the tweets to reveal our story.

Please do spread the word around, the more of us the better.. and leading up to the day, add the URBAN TWEET DAY Twibbon to your Twitter profile picture. If you don't already, you can follow us on Twitter here.

Any questions, thoughts or ideas?

2009-12-10T12:06:00.001Z

Are you sitting comfortably ?

... then I'll begin this post...

One dark morning, a middle aged man got up at 6am so that he could set off to drive 80 miles south to the Suffolk coast and arrive in plenty of time to work with some teachers from the county. He was going to spend the first 90 minutes of a Geography conference to talk to 40 colleagues about Literacy in Geography and Geography through Literacy...."

Was there a happy ending ? Read on to find out...

The presentation that I used on the day is available from SLIDESHARE, and is embedded below...

Suffolk Literacy Session

View more presentations from GeoBlogs.

Thanks to James Woolven for adding the various resources to the Suffolk Geography page of the Suffolk Learning Hub....

On the day, I also gave an update on GA projects. There was a range of other sessions: Colin Breeze presented a session on the work he had been doing on the flooding of 2007, and shared a comprehensive range of activities on the theme of flooding.

Also heard a useful phrase from the Suffolk Advisor for Humanities: Dale Banham.

He used the phrase "iceberg questions" - will come back to those in a later post...

For the same session, I asked my Twitter network to tell me about a book which they thought had excellent descriptions of LANDSCAPE. These were the results of the consultation....

Tynemouth – Thomas Hardy's "Return of the Native" – Egdon Heath

Isle of Islay – Iain Banks' "Espedair Street", Ferguslie Park, Paisley

London – "Bone People" – Kerry Hulme

Bedfordshire – "Waterland" – Graham Swift - description of the Fens

Newcastle – Wainwright’s Guides to SW Lakes

Portsmouth – "Touching the Void" – Joe Simpson – mountain landscapes

Sheffield – "Jamaica Inn" – Daphne du Maurier – moorland in Cornwall

W. Midlands – "Sunset Song" – Lewis Grassic Gibbon

Brighton – Sebastian Faulks – "Birdsong" and "Charlotte Gray"

Ipswich – "Around Ireland with a Fridge"

Ashford, Kent – Paul Theroux – "The Great Railway Bazaar"

Scotland - "The Lord of the Rings"

On the same morning, David Rogers was using John Davitt's Learning Event Generator to work with students on the Copenhagen Climage change conference, and challenged them to create some Army chats, which he then shared through Twitpic...

Thanks to Dale Banham and all the delegates and presenters for their work on the day.

2009-12-02T12:26:00.001Z

Work included in portfolio for Quality Mark submission...

There are two events planned for March. For more details see the GA WEBSITE.

Booking now available...

Leszek Iwaskow, Ofsted's National Adviser for Geography, will open these conferences with his view on quality geography that challenges and supports student learning. Quality geography aims for both excellence and enjoyment. These conferences provide the opportunity to discuss and develop what we mean by 'quality geography' in both the primary and secondary phases.

Central London - Tuesday 2 March 2010

Sheffield - Tuesday 9 March 2010

About the Conferences

The overarching strength of the Quality Mark is its capacity to act as an effective 'lever of change' for the development of geography in schools and these conferences for KS1, 2 and 3 will explore the nature, effects and impact of the Geography Quality Marks.The conferences will identify elements of quality geography exemplified through work from Quality Mark schools, and will look in detail at how schools can prepare for, work towards and achieve the Quality Marks.You will take away ideas and materials to use in your school, receive a certificate of attendance and if you use the ideas from the conference in your school you will be eligible to receive a Certificate recognising Professional Development. This can help you work towards a TLA stage 1 or Geography Quality Mark.
Aims and outcomes

The outcomes of the conferences include raised understanding of:what quality geography looks like in practicehow Ofsted arrive at an 'Outstanding' judgement when undertaking geography subject inspectionshow to achieve the top Quality Mark awards in your school

Presenters

Leszek Iwaskow - National Adviser for Geography, Ofsted

Wendy North and Paula Owens - GA Primary Curriculum Project Leaders

Justin Woolliscroft - GA Secondary Geography Quality Mark Co-ordinator

Teachers already participating in the Primary and Secondary Geography Quality Mark schemes will also lead workshops and share how they have supported and developed quality geography in their schools.

Programme

09:15-09:45 Coffee and registration

09:45-10:15 Keynote Address
Quality Geography: Challenging and supporting student learning
Leszek Iwaskow, Ofsted's National Adviser for Geography
10:15-10:30 Refreshment break

10:30-12:30 Phase-group workshop

12:30-13:15 Lunch

13:15-15:00 Phase-group workshop

15:00-15:30 Next steps

15:30 Close

2009-11-27T15:51:00.001Z

Image by Alan Parkinson - as seen in "Look at it this Way"...

Details of the Geographical Association's first Post 16 National Conference are now on the GA website.

This will take place in London on the 22nd of June 2010

This conference will discuss ways to enhance A-level teaching and learning through two major themes: rivers, floods and management and the impact of urban change. The workshops will include ideas for fieldwork and the use of ICT, and how to prepare students for the fieldwork examination questions.

Online booking already available...

There are large discounts for student GA members.